My family and I are traveling on Ruby Princess soon. We are waitlisted for the early seating in the traditional dining room. There are 115 people ahead of us on the list. We are traveling with an 8 year old and are concerned that if we get the late seating she will miss a good deal of the kids programming in the evening.
How easy is it to make reservations and get the time you want in the "Anytime Dining Room" for a party of 5?
My family and I are traveling on Ruby Princess soon. We are waitlisted for the early seating in the traditional dining room. There are 115 people ahead of us on the list. We are traveling with an 8 year old and are concerned that if we get the late seating she will miss a good deal of the kids programming in the evening.
How easy is it to make reservations and get the time you want in the "Anytime Dining Room" for a party of 5?
Hi GlennM, we have never had any trouble with getting a table using the Anytime Dining. We normally go around 6 or 6:30. There does seem to be a wait when it comes to the 7-7:30 group. That is actually how we came to try anytime dining, we were wait listed for late seating on the Sea Princess, so we opted for Anytime. We really liked it better. You don't have to rush to get back from shore excursions, you get to meet more people on board (if you opt for a shared table), you get the exact same food as the main dining room (they don't parade the baked Alaska, though, they serve it just no parade), and you get to meet more of the staff. The drawback is, you don't get to know your tablemates as well (unless you find some you really enjoy and just meet before dinner), and you don't get your same wait staff (although you can request a certain waiter). They have all sizes of tables, with 5 in your family, you will probably have a table all to your own. I sure hope you enjoy the Ruby, we were on the Emerald year before last, what a beautiful ship. The Sanctuary is a great place for taking pictures when you're coming into port. It's also a great place to escape the crowds, they offer a $10/pp half day pass. The International Cafe on the Plaza deck has some great lunch/brunch offerings, some are free some are extra charge. They have 9 types of gelato, 3 scoops for $1.50 that is absolutely yummy! We tried both Sabatini's and the Crown Grill, they were divine. If you try the Crown Grill, you have to try the Black and Blue Onion Soup, it is wonderful. They put Jack Daniels Black in the broth and blue cheese on top. Even though we were on the Emerald for 10 days, I know there are places we didn't get to check out, the ship is huge! Best wishes for a fantastic cruise, please let us know how you enjoyed it when you return.
I guess I should mention. If there is a wait, they will give you a buzzer (like in a restaurant). I have heard some people complain that it took 25 minutes to get seated, but most that I have talked to said it was more like a 5-10 minute wait.
We've used anytime dining and hardly ever have a problem. We seldom had to wait, only when we have requested a specific waiter and if it will be too long, you have the option of sitting at another table. We tend to eat later, often using the sauna pool or hottub when everyone else is at dinner. You may have to adjust your seating time by a few minutes if you discover that everyone wants to eat at the same time, but it tends to work out to everyone's timetable.
We've used Anytime dining a few times and had the same experience as Penny: before 7:00 or after 8:00 we never had to wait; 7:00-7:30 seemed to be the busiest.
We just got back from our cruise on the Ruby Princess. It was extraordinary. I was very impressed with the level of service and overall quality.
We had no problem getting a seat at 6pm in the anytime dining room. We then made consecutive reservations for the rest of the week at the same table. I would really miss getting to know the wait staff if we had a different one each time.
The service was impeccable and the menus were sumptious. Our 8 yr old ordered off the adult menus every night and found entrees to her liking. The "homestyle choices" (ie: pork loin, meatloaf, fish and chips etc) were excellent! The waiters did not do any table side magic or singing as on Holland or RCL. Is this the standard for Princess?
The waiters did not do any table side magic or singing
Occasionally a few may break into an impromptu song, but not on any regular basis.
Gone too is the table-side preparation of Caesar salad and Cherries Jubilee; head waiters will occasionally make a special pasta dish. But the food and service are still excellent and I'm very glad you enjoyed your cruise.
Welcome back GlennM Glad to hear you had a good time! It's great that your daughter liked the "big people" food. Even when Princess was under P&O they didn't do the table-side magic, Caesar salad or Cherries Jubilee. They did do the Baked Alaska parade. They will sing for a birthday, anniversary, honeymoon, but it's not like other lines in the dining room. They have had a professional, elegant type dining room since we've been sailing with them. Not sure about the "Love Boat" days. Can't wait to see which cruise you pick next. Get busy booking, it takes the sting out of the debarkation blues
Glad to hear you had a good time! It's great that your daughter liked the "big people" food. Even when Princess was under P&O they didn't do the table-side magic, Caesar salad or Cherries Jubilee. They did do the Baked Alaska parade. They will sing for a birthday, anniversary, honeymoon, but it's not like other lines in the dining room. They have had a professional, elegant type dining room since we've been sailing with them. Not sure about the "Love Boat" days. Can't wait to see which cruise you pick next. Get busy booking, it takes the sting out of the debarkation blues 
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